Kyrie Irving has proven to be something of a calming presence for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the team has needed it amidst a few struggles.
After the Cavaliers picked up a big 112-105 victory over Charlotte Friday — a win that came after the team had lost six of their previous 10 — Irving was nonchalant, saying it was simply the team’s responsibility to tune out distractions and fix things.
“It just echoes around the same statement of kind of let the world go crazy, and then we figure it out internally and we go from there,” Irving told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “That’s really all it comes down to: not letting anyone else dictate what are the things that we need to do and improve on. And then going out and just doing it.
“With us, we have a very close-knit group, a great culture, and we’ve just got to stick to it and understand that when it all comes down to it, as professionals we’ve got to raise our play and just become better. But every journey is different. This team’s run [leading up to the playoffs] and season have been totally different. It’s shaping out to be different, and it will continue to be. But we’ve just got to see where the answer lies and just go find it.”
Irving added that he hasn’t been concerned due to the amount of talent on the roster.
“Just reality,” Irving said. “A realization that putting this team together, it’s not going to come together as fast as everyone thinks it is. We have a lot of pieces. We have a lot of talent. We’re probably the most talented team in the league, by far, with just the pieces that we have.
“But it takes a lot more to integrate players, integrate plays, schemes and everything else than just us being on the road together and not necessarily having all the practice time. But practice is very valuable to us, and when we get a chance to be very detailed, we’re a better team. So until then, we’re just going to continue to try to learn on the run and be there for one another and just be consummate professionals.”
Where LeBron James is more aggressive and critical, Irving, at least publicly, tends to take a more relaxed route. Perhaps that works for them.
